V for Vendetta
by xShirayukixRukiax
Summary: AU: Itachi was the criminal and Sasuke will be the law enforcer, seeking out his brother for his personal vendetta...but to whom does he really point his gun to?
1. Chapter 1

This is actually my first take on a Naruto fic and I hope I can do good about it. The story revolves on the Uchiha brothers and the setting is in an alternate universe, not the Naruto world.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the characters mentioned hereafter.

One teen stood in the middle of the mansion owned by the Uchiha family. His face was blank with emotion, his eyes unseeing as he stood amidst the pile of dead bodies of his entire clan. The house which was earlier filled with sounds of music, of conversation was now eerie with silence. Blood gashed from the small cut at the left portion of his face. In an instant, everything changed. He could see the dead eyes of his kin staring straight at him as if seeing through him. He could still hear it ringing against his ears – the roar of gunfire, the screams and cries for help and the swishing of the swords as they were all mercilessly slaughtered on the eve of the clan's family reunion.

He blinked as reality started to sink into his young mind. His family is dead.

With eyes finally registering an emotion akin to panic, the teen, barely seventeen searched for a particular figure amidst all the bloody chaos. From the living room, to the kitchen and finally upstairs, he desperately sought his younger brother. He opened every room and searched every corner until he came to his parent's room only to tower above the corpse of Fugaku and Mikoto. His father's eyes were wide in terror as it stared back at Itachi. The latter could only feel regret towards his father. The two were never really close like father and son. Their relationship was strained ever since Itachi entered middle school. Itachi always resented his father for the high expectations coming from him, pressuring the young boy at a young age and robbing him off of Itachi's right to be a child. At the very least, Uchiha Itachi could not even have a normal childhood like the rest do. No he does not. Aside from that, Itachi resented his father most because of how he treated his younger brother, for ruining Sasuke's hope of ever going to be just as great as the first born. For Itachi, he never felt like his father really loved his sons and because of those many reasons, Itachi had a falling out with his father. Their mother is tolerable. While not as brazen as her husband in her expectations from the eldest, she still shared the same viewpoint with Fugaku. But while Fugaku only felt proud of his sons when they did something to further the name Uchiha, Mikoto always felt proud for both boys.

"Kaa-san," Itachi whispered and moved to kneel down beside her when a voice spoke from somewhere hidden. He stood up immediately, alerted at the presence. And when he turned, he came face to face with the stranger he met three days earlier.

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The younger Uchiha was walking home with his friends, Naruto, Shikamaru, Lee and Neji while their teachers for martial arts followed behind them. It had become more of a habit for Kakashi and Gai eventhough Nara, Hyuuga and Uchiha have someone to fetch them up. But today was a little bit different. They thought it strange that no one came for Sasuke. For the twelve-year old boy, it does not make a difference whether someone came or not with an exception if it was Itachi. Sasuke would usually walk with his friends if Itachi did not come (at least when they were younger). Nara was the first to reach his house followed by Neji, Lee and finally Naruto.

The three left stood at the intersection of the road. "Don't forget about tomorrow, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi reminded his most brightest student about the event for the following day. Not only was Kakashi an instructor in martial arts but he too was Sasuke's history and literature teacher.

"Hai," the boy nodded and gave them a bright smile before waving his hand and walked. Kakashi watched his student's back before he focused on the Uchiha house far ahead. And he frowned. Even though it was far from where they are, his trained eyes could still tell that there were lines of patrol cars and ambulance in front of the mansion.

"Gai."

"Yeah...something is not right," Gai nodded and moved first to run after Sasuke.

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The young boy snuck on the bushes behind the mansion. He took the short-cut to their house even tough he could have taken the normal route. But he is excited. His brother is coming home from the university. His brother is an exceptional child, a genius at such a young age that he advanced to a university in less amount of time.

Remaining ignorant at the commotion within the mansion's perimeter, he made a run inside only to stop dead, frozen on the spot as his eyes made a survey at the living room.

Broken glasses and windows and figurines.

And then his eyes widened.

Blood.

So much blood on the floor.

Though young in mind, Sasuke was nowhere stupid. He knew something was wrong. Something happened. Besides, he ca't find a glimpse of his family. "'Kaa-san!" he cried and dashed upstairs.

The police officer who was last to leave the house heard the voice and turned. He was sure there was no one there a while ago. All the bodies have been taken out. "Something wrong, Hayate?" his companion asked.

"Ah, I thought I heard someone," he answered and frowned. "I better check back to make sure." Before he could turn around, he saw two civilans being prevented from entering the wide Uchiha lawn.

"Sir, we cannot allow anyone to enter the crime scene," Raiga said patiently to the two whom he knew as Gai and Kakashi. The teachers are quite famous around town even back when they were younger. He heard that there was only one who surpassed them at such a young age, younger than when Kakashi had been hailed a true genius. That would be no other than Itachi who at the moment was not among the dead people along with his younger brother. But he found it a bit disturbing to find a note up there - a note left on the crime scene. "We assure you there was no one there."

Kakashi slapped the policeman's hand away and glared. "And I can assure you my student had just arrived hime, probably had taken out the short route and is at the house at the moment."

"What route?" Raiga asked.

Hayate decided then that there really was someone there. When he entered the house and searched for him, he found the young boy upstairs, staring blankly at the room where the bodies of the couple Fugaku and Mikoto were found.

"Boy," he called and tapped his shoulder making Sasuke jump back in surprise. What Hayate saw there was plain horror.

"W-Where are my parents?" he whispered, trying to control his emotions. Hayate had often dealt with situations like this, when one asks about the victims before they turn hysterical and he could see the boy is close to going into hysterics.

"They are..." he gulped, trying to find a nice way to deliver the sad news to the boy. He took a deep breath. "They're gone."

Instead of expecting a hysterical boy or one in denial, he was rather surprised to see the boy nod his head. Now, that was not a normal reaction especially coming from a small boy. "And...m-my brother?" this time, he stammered and there was true fear in his voice which puzzled Hayate. He was more afraid of learning about his brother's death than that of his parents.

The policeman shook his head. "We didn't find his body but we do believe he is alive," he answered truthfully. It was that note. He left a confession note addressed to his little brother. He heard that Itachi and Sasuke were very close and that the older brother became some sort of a father to Sasuke as well as he continuously taught Sasuke things he should learn, whether in school or in life. At least that is what the rumors say. And so he wondered how the young boy would react to it.

He had to look away after seeing that hopeful look in his eyes. Hayate thought he already knew what would happen to the boy if he learned about it. Uchiha Sasuke will surely be crushed. "Then where is he? Where is Itachi?" he asked desperately and held Hayate's arms.

Kakashi and Gai stood at the doorway, watching the scene unfold to them. Raiga was forced to share information with them about something disturbing, the killer being known but the motive remained a puzzle. That was the time Hayate noticed the presence of the two and growled. "What the hell are you two doing here?" he barked, annoyed at having civilians at the crime scene. They might tamper probable evidence.

Sasuke harshly glanced at their direction but the harsh look left his face when he recognized his teachers. He ignored them though and focused on the policeman once more. "Where is he?" he repeated, his voice demanding.

Hayate sighed. "Look here boy, this is not the place and time to talk about it," he started but his evasive answer made the boy suspicious. "We should probably see to your family's - "

"No! I want to know where my brother is," he argued stubbornly and crossed his arms. Seeing no point in actually lying to him even if he was just a boy, Hayate spoke.

"Your brother is not here already. He probably fled after committing such atrocity," he said and regretted the words when he saw how Sasuke's arms went limp at his side, his eyes a look of disbelief. Hayate took out something from his pocket. "I'll let you have that for the moment but I will have to take it back for evidence."

He left after nodding at the two. He had no intention being in the same room and having to look at the crushed spirit of a boy who believed so much in someone else only to be betrayed by the same person for an unknown motive. He decided he would just have to wait outside. Hayate would admit this was the first time he felt like a coward, giving details to the family of victims. At normal times, he would have just spoken casually and leave.

And the boy whom he thought would still remain apathetic towards his family's death finally screamed in hysteria and denial after reading the content of the letter.

"It's a lie!" he cried. "Aniki would never do such - "

Hayate decided it was time to call for someone to subdue the raging boy. The boy is indeed crushed - immediately.

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It took three days for reality to sink into Sasuke's mind. He had been denying the truth for whole three days, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that his brother was the one who killed the entire clan. He always believed his brother was not a violent man. Yet...he was capable of doing it. It was painful to accept that. It was painful to learn that the one you look up to so much would be responsible for the clan's murder. He always knew Itachi never liked the entire clan but he believed that his dislike was not really enough reason for him to taint his hands with their bloods. But he thought wrong.

In one instant moment, everything he believed about Itachi became a lie.

_I am sorry Sasuke, but it was I who killed them all. My hatred for the family was just too strong to ignore that I had to come home and settle it with killing them. Find me brother. Grow up and find me and then, I will tell you why._

In one instant moment, Itachi had become a distant figure that Sasuke could not even fathom.

And in that one night, everything ended for both brothers. The bond that so tightly held them both was suddenly loose and is about to break. In that one moment of truth, the boy, Sasuke, changed so much and Kakashi could remember the last smile he gave him and Gai. It was the last bright smile coming from the Uchiha boy.

After careful deliberation, Kakashi decided to become Sasuke's guardian and oversee the boy's growth upon recommendation by the country's president who had come to pay his last respect to the Uchiha family - the strongest political family in Japan. For Kakashi, it would be a difficult task because Sasuke had changed so much. His young heart and mind were focused into avenging the Uchiha against another Uchiha.

At age twelve, Sasuke had vowed to someday kill his brother and his personal vendetta was what drove him to strive, as he listened to what people say about him and his brother, as he tried to listen to police talk about Itachi's whereabouts. And for Sasuke to gain so much information, he decided that he will become a policeman someday. In that way, he will obtain information that the policemen are purposely withholding from him after learning his desire to hunt down Itachi.

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What'd you think about it? Hopefully it was okay. It was kinda easier creating an AU story than going with the canon...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

The silver-haired looked up from his book when he felt the boy enter the house silently, not wanting to attract any attention. It had been five years after the massacre and Kakashi had finally decided to adopt the boy as his own though Sasuke chose to retain his family name. He had been aware how problematic Sasuke had become and among his peers, the only ones capable of putting up with his deviant attitude were his small group of friends – the same people who walked with him towards home.

It was hard to get into Sasuke's core. After Itachi's betrayal, Sasuke was reserved even to his friends, not too trusting and very cautious. It was as if he does not want a repeat of what happened – to be betrayed by the one you trusted most.

"My car key is missing so I assume you took it," Kakashi spoke from the corner, his voice halting the seventeen year old boy who was about to take the stairs. Kakashi studied the boy's outfit. From head to toe, there is no doubt he is becoming delinquent and he could only hope Sasuke would not fall so low in his attempt to find his youth lost when his clan was massacred by his own brother.

Sasuke nodded as he crossed his arms. Kakashi raised his brow. "Without my permission as usual?" he pointed out and closed the book. He loved this boy like his own and he'll be damned if he will let this continue. He turned a blind eye for five years, allowing the boy to do as he wishes, not wanting to confine him in his grief. But perhaps he was too lenient with him that he failed to notice how Sasuke was taking the wrong turn.

"You took my key so it's only right I take yours," Sasuke snapped.

"Because you have been hanging out with people influencing you to become as delinquent as you are now. Tell me, how many bottles have you taken tonight?" he asked and the question rendered the boy speechless for a moment before his eyes hardened, the black orbs glaring at the silver-haired.

"That's none of your concerns, I can do whatever the heck I wanted to do with my life," Sasuke spat. "You have no right over me."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kakashi prayed for patience like he always does. "It's my concern because you are just as much as my son now." His voice was low and soft and he gave Sasuke a firm look while the latter stared with bitterness.

"I'm just your ward, Kakashi-sensei," he said, using the title for the first time in five years. "I'm not your son. The one who called me son, no matter how worthless he saw me compared to Itachi, was dead – murdered by the very person he molded into becoming a genius."

He did not care about the pained look that momentarily crossed Kakashi's eyes. When no words came from Kakashi for the next few seconds, Sasuke decided it's time to go to his bed. He was on the top of the stairs when Kakashi once again spoke.

"You don't have to carry my blood for me to call you my son, Sasuke," he said. Sasuke scoffed and went straight to his room. He slammed the door shut and massaged his temple. He failed once again in finding anything about his brother.

He had been doing this for five years, joining one various group to another in an attempt to gather any information about Itachi's whereabouts after he received news that Itachi was working underground. Everyone he talked to never heard about his brother which was very frustrating.

Kakashi would never understand why he was doing this. No one among his friends would ever do because they are just too good that they don't know how to avenge something taken from them. Take Naruto for instance. His parents were murdered but Naruto made no attempt at even avenging them even though he learned the man who killed them was freely walking around.

It appalled Sasuke that his thoughts had become so dark after his family's death. He remembered he was not like this, he was just the average Uchiha boy who always clung to his brother for dear life – the same brother who had broken him in just one act.

His phone rang and the call came from Naruto. "What?" he asked crudely.

Naruto was immune to his gruff attitude. "Just wanna ask if you got home."

"Hmm…"

There was a long pause. "Sasuke…when will you ever stop searching?"

"You know the answer to that, stupid," he answered coldly. "I'll never stop searching until I find even a small clue about my brother's whereabouts." They do not know why he wanted so much to find him.

Naruto sighed in resignation. He could only support his friend but that does not mean forever allowing him to drown himself in anger and hatred to the extent that finding his brother means infiltrating the underworld too. It was just too dangerous. He knew what Sasuke is capable of. Hell, he is one hell of a fighter but even that would not suffice in the underworld.

"What happened to your vow to become a policeman and be the one to capture your brother?" he asked instead.

"It's the same. Don't worry about me, ahou, I'm not ruining my life for nothing," he said and Naruto shook his head.

_You're ruining it for vengeance._

"Your girlfriend is worried about you," Naruto pointed out, involving Sakura in the conversation, hoping it would actually help Sasuke away from his thoughts at the moment. But to his utter surprise, Sasuke merely scoffed.

"I'm tired of her worrying every one bit," he stated. "Besides, I'm through with her just yesterday. She was never my type to begin with."

"Teme - !" Naruto exploded at Sasuke's disregard for Sakura whom he happened to like at the moment.

"Go visit her, date her, screw her and I don't give a shit," Sasuke continued cynically. Then he yawned. "I got to sleep now, dork. We've got class tomorrow."

Before Naruto could respond to Sasuke's first remark, the line went off and he could only stare at his mobile, disbelief flashing in his eyes. He knew his friend had always been cold and cynical but he thought when he dated Sakura, there would be a little change. All along, Sasuke had seen Sakura as nothing but just one of those girls.

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The older man glanced at the younger one as they both trekked down the hostile mountains of Banja Luka. The two would be in a deep shit if they were ever to get caught in this place. He never would have thought that a boy of barely seventeen of age who joined five years ago would be the one assigned to Kisame. He thought it was like babysitting a delinquent teenager. But he thought wrong.

Uchiha Itachi was nowhere near the ordinary teenagers and not a delinquent like he first assumed. The boy was just outright cold and apathetic towards everything. He never could understand why this boy decided to join the organization. But the leader had mentioned they needed Itachi's intellect and his skills. Through research, he learned Itachi was a guy who excelled at everything he does – a feat only a few were able to accomplish and those few are what we call the genius.

And this Itachi is certainly one.

Over the course of time, Kisame and Itachi had become good partners in business and were probably the only pair that got along each other with the exception of Pein and Konan. The relationship within the organization is somewhat dynamic. At times, the whole group got along with each other quite well and at other times, they would argue heatedly. Yet hidden within is the amount of respect and camaraderie that each member refused to show or even acknowledge for that matter.

"How long do you think will we stay here?" he asked to elicit a conversation as they took a rest under a large tree. Itachi brought out his device and scanned the area half-kilometer away from them. "Probably a few days…you have to understand that we have to recruit this guy," he answered. As the device worked, Itachi brought out his portable computer (smaller than the average notebook) and worked on sending information to the leader. Kisame peered over when he was done and accidentally opened a small button much to Itachi's chagrin.

"Whoa, that sure looked like you," Kisame exclaimed, unaware of the expression that momentarily shown on Itachi's face. Kisame had already known about Itachi and the massacre that occurred five years ago. However, when Itachi did not even respond with his usual "Hn", Kisame glanced over him and asked once more. "This…"

"My younger brother," Itachi introduced who was at the picture. Whenever he happen to glance at this or remember the event, Itachi would also remember the pain of betraying his brother's trust, of hurting him.

"Oh?" Kisame asked with a raised brow. "The only one alive apart from you I heard."

Itachi shrugged and stood up. "You sure started hearing a lot – mostly unnecessary things though which is quite a shame."

"Hey – "

"The last I heard about him was his adoption by Hatake Kakashi," he spoke the name wryly. "And he's sure a troublesome child now I heard." His lips broke into a faint smile. He gave his partner a look, his insipid eyes bore through him for a while before he continued. "He's hunting me down."

The last remark made Kisame chuckle. "Really? Does he pose a problem to the organization?"

"No."

Kisame stood as well and the two did not talk about the subject anymore as they watched the village just below. "I wonder what kind of guy this person is," Kisame commented while Itachi remained quiet. "By the way, what happened between you and that creepy bastard?" he asked, curious at how things ended between the silent war of Itachi and Orochimaru (it's not like Itachi was into it though).

The question earned a dull look from the younger man. The reaction made Kisame raise his hand in the air and sighed. "Should not have asked. Ya beat 'im up then? Or ya killed 'im?" he asked, his hand reaching for his snack.

"He ran away."

The remark made the man who looked like a shark laugh in amusement. Of all the things he would hear about the great Orochimaru – it had to be him running away after challenging the young Uchiha Itachi, not wanting to acknowledge that the guy is stronger and smarter than he is.

"Pfft, so much for being great," Kisame scoffed at Orochimaru. Among all the members of Akatsuki, it was only that person who disgusts Kisame so much. Perhaps because he had some weird personality and he could remember him hitting at Itachi when the boy was just a new member. Thankfully though, Itachi could handle him quite well, making Orochimaru hate the kid and plotting his demise. In the end, Orochimaru was the one who ran away.

"Let's go," Itachi ordered and glanced at something. A few more days…

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Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of the many tombs that are lined side by side, each one only bearing the name of the person laid to rest there. It was never adorned with flowers like most graves are. Neither was it adorned with anything beautiful. It was just plain stone with names engraved in simple letters. Sasuke never felt like adorning it beautifully. He will only do it if their deaths were avenged one day…

His eyes narrowed a little at the single flower resting in front of his mother's grave. It was simple lily – her favorite and Sasuke knew only one person left who knew about that small fascination with flowers. His face hardened.

_He was here._

The thought made him look around in anger but he couldn't see his brother around. The fact that he was here meant that Itachi is just around – it would be easier to track him down then. His hands bunched into fists and a cruel smile curved his lips.

A hide and seek game eh?

Still with that thought, his mobile rang. "What?" he asked gruffly, not even bothering about who the caller was. Something more important had come up – a hint that Itachi is just nearby.

"Meet me at the ramen shop, ASAP, I have something to give you," Naruto answered directly after sensing the foul mood.

"If it is not really that important then it'd be a bother," Sasuke exclaimed, his one hand tucking at his pocket, his onyx eyes still busy looking around. "I've got – "

"You might thank me later for this, pal," Naruto's voice was serious.

"Hn. You better be sure or else," the dark-haired threatened and shut the mobile off. He better be sure it was really something important and had nothing to do with his break-up with Sakura a few days ago.

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"It seems he noticed it," Kisame commented lazily as the two sat at one car distant from the graveyard and somewhere hidden from anyone's view. "That okay with you?"

Itachi was busy typing at his laptop. He came here directly just after his Banja Luka mission and Kisame insisted on tagging along, wanting to know what the young man does every same time of the year in Japan. In the process, even Deidera was dragged along much to the blonde's chagrin as he sat at the backseat of the car, annoyed to the bones by being defeated by the quiet man.

"Someday I swear I'll kill you, un," he threatened from behind, his voice dripping with hatred for this man. The other one, the big guy, chuckled and laughed. The blond frowned at being laughed at. He had tried every method against these two but in the end, he was forced to submit. Aside from getting defeated in a match to prove who is superior, they both blackmailed him too, threatening to sell information to law enforcers about his secret activities in the hostile land of Bosnia. From the way the two both talked, it seemed they have connections far and wide and it wouldn't be wise to go against them yet.

So he decided to go with them willingly, wanting to meet their leader and demanding a rematch with him. But it did not go as planned because after they were out of Bosnia, he was surprised to learn everything was already planned, even his passport and visa were already prepared and that they were only to fly for Japan first before going to where Akatsuki is actually based.

"It seems you have gained yet another challenger, Itachi," Kisame commented and hooted another laugh. "I wonder if it would be this man whom you would lose to."

"…"

The silence from him was what unnerved Deidera and he concluded that Uchiha Itachi was a man with less words but a force to be reckoned with. From a few days travel with them, he learned from observation that the guy is apathetic to what happened around him and therefore his goal is really unpredictable.

"What do you say Itachi? Perhaps this man can do it – "

"He can try," was the simple yet cynical answer. He shut his laptop and finally stared at the young man standing from a distance, his head moving from left to right as if looking for someone while talking with another over the phone.

He's dropping hints and it would be up to Sasuke if he could follow it.

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He found his friend busy at the ramen shop, probably eating his fifth bowl of ramen already. The guy is a glutton and his mind consists of nothing but ramen. He had been avoiding Sakura since a few days ago already, not even intending to explain his disregard for her. That's probably the reason Naruto wanted to talk to him.

Pulling one stool, he just sat beside Naruto, not wanting to eat at all. He was wearing an all-black leather suit. His friend was wearing an overall orange suit, his favorite clothes, the last gift from his parents before they were killed.

"Going out again?" Naruto asked, wondering how even in his delinquent behavior, his friend could still ace his academic quizzes and exams.

"Hn."

Naruto set the bowl down and handed him a small note. He gave his friend a serious look before scratching his head. "Someone snuck that note in my locker. It says someone has a lead about your brother if you're interested."

He saw how his eyes suddenly changed in expression at the mention of his brother and Naruto felt like he is pushing his friend more into a life he should not lead. Instead of helping him pull out, he was instead helping him about it. He knew their friends would not tolerate it once they found out about it. "Mind if I tag along?"

Giving Naruto a slanted look, he raised his brow. "And what would you gain from it?"

"Nothing. I just want to – you see, Kakashi-san – "

The mention of the name made Sasuke stand up. "Never mind. I need you to tell him to stay out of my business," he said coldly. "This is something you guys will never understand."

"I can't believe that with your brain, you could be so stupid too," Naruto burst in annoyance. "Teme, Kakashi-san is worried sick about you as well as Sakura-chan! You could at least give some importance to it – "

Walking away from the raging blond, Sasuke spoke. "I never asked them to worry for me, I will live my life the way I see fit."

"You're such an ass!"

The answer he got from him was the slamming of the door and Naruto was left fuming mad. He'll be damned to actually just be left here. He'll follow him secretly.

But the blond never would have thought that what would happen tonight would make a pivotal turn in Sasuke's life.

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My thanks to BrokenAvenger21...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The young man entered the house quietly as he removed his coat and tossed it at the nearby couch. Work had been hectic a few weeks ago. One particular case had been getting much of his time and therefore Sasuke had less time doing his plan which did not annoy him as much as it did eight years back.

"Is that you Sasuke-kun?" the voice of his foster father startled Sasuke a little bit as he opened the lights to find Kakashi sitting in the corner, obviously just waking up, a book on his lap. The sight made Sasuke look away in shame and guilt. Kakashi recognized the look and smiled warmly. "How's work?"

"Troublesome," Sasuke answered curtly and headed towards the kitchen to prepare dinner but was shocked to find food already well-prepared in the kitchen. He looked over his shoulder as Kakashi rolled his wheelchair towards him. "I'm being pulled out from operations to stand as guard to Senator Sarutobi."

"I took the liberty of preparing dinner for you since you have been coming home late the past few days. I guess your work is taking much of your time," he said to break the awkward silence.

Dumbly, Sasuke just nodded and pulled a chair before he recovered. "You don't have to go this far," he mumbled. He couldn't understand why Kakashi never got angry with him after what happened eight years ago in his thirst for information about his brother.

"I'm happy doing simple things that could be of value to you," Kakashi said and patted Sasuke's knee. "I'll head to bed now. Have a good night sleep, Sasuke-kun." And just like that, Hatake Kakashi rolled his wheelchair away, and was unable to hear Sasuke's mumbled words.

"Thanks."

When finally alone, he started eating and stopped at the sight of the ramen. He clenched his fists so tight. Ramen was that idiot's favorite and whenever he dropped by here, he always asked for a bowl of it from Kakashi who was happy enough to oblige for Sasuke's friends. From the living room, Kakashi watched with sad eyes as Sasuke's shoulder started to shake. He knew deep down, though it wasn't particularly his fault, Sasuke blamed himself for what happened back then.

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_A group surrounded Sasuke as they all smirked at him, thoroughly enjoying the fact that they managed to lure the newbie punk into their lair without so much difficulty. All it took was to send a note to his dumb friend and tell them they knew something about the criminal, Itachi. This guy was just too dumb to even fall for it._

_"Tch...finally," one with brown hair said as he pulled drew his gun from the holster and Sasuke immediately understood he had been tricked - him and Naruto. _

_He looked around, trying to find a way to get out of here so easily. They are on the 2nd floor of an abandoned building, construction incomplete. He cursed his luck for coming here unprepared. Then he caught sight of one member and couldn't help but smirk. He remembers the guy - no matter how insignificant he was as an enemy - he could clearly remember him. "Oh? So you went and licked your wounds before crying out to them?"_

_He felt the cold barrel on his neck. Undaunted he merely shrugged. "Watch your mouth, Uchiha - you know better than to beat up a gang's member."_

_"Yeah I know," Sasuke answered with nonchalance. "So, you don't have any information about my brother, do you?" he asked seriously and the guys, ten at most, laughed out hardly._

_"Che, who gives a shit about a criminal like him," one said and motioned for his companion to knock him out and be done with it. But Sasuke was faster. He had been training with his friends since they were young and so his reflexes are quick and agile. He elbowed the man beside him before making a swift turn and used his hand to knock him on his neck. Before he could attack another one, he ducked and rolled to a post to hide._

_"Teme!"_

_Sasuke stiffened at the familiar voice and from his position, he peeked and was horrified to find Naruto standing there. "Shit," he cursed and moved again as the group fired continuously. "Hide damn it!" He shouted towards Naruto as his friend spotted him. _

_"There is no way you can run away from us so easily, Uchiha, you're on the second floor of the building."_

_"Yeah?" Sasuke asked with a challenge and appeared from another side to knock one more before grabbing his gun and fired back as well. Surprised, the leader of the gang was forced to hide already and Sasuke took the opportunity to jump down from the second floor. He hissed in pain but ran towards his friend who was already hiding and waiting for him. _

_"Holy cow - you jumped from there?" Naruto had the time to be awed and Sasuke had to smack his friend._

_"What are you doing here stupid?" he asked coldly as they both bought time before they could run. _

_"Find them! Don't let the Uchiha get away! Even that idiot blonde!"_

_Naruto fumed and was about to stand up when Sasuke pulled him down. "Don't you dare!" he warned dangerously. He raised his head an inch before he turned to Naruto. "I'll buy you some time and run towards that door."_

_"Sasuke...how do you even know how to use a gun?" perhaps it was only that time that it registered to Naruto and he looked around. "There is no way you should know how to use that thing yet!"_

_"Will you quiet down?" Sasuke growled and pushed Naruto as he fired in one direction. "Now go!"_

_the black-haired teen rolled away from where they were hiding as Naruto ran towards the door only to have Sasuke stare at his direction in horror as it happened in a slow motion as if time stood still for the moment. How...? When...?_

_"Naruto!" He was even more shocked to hear familiar voices from outside but that moment, it did not register to him. Sasuke was only filled with the scene that played out right in front of him. It happened so fast but the leader of the group managed to take Naruto down so easily. Blinded by rage, he fired the gun, just firing it aimlessly and one bullet got the leader's life as he was about to duck. _

_"Sasuke!" his ears were deaf with their voices as he merely fired there and he was unable to notice that the weak foundations of the building were giving way. The next thing he knew, he was thrown back with such great force and his head knocked over the wall before things went black._

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When he woke up, he learned that Naruto died and Kakashi's feet were amputated. And it was all his fault. At least that was what Lee had accused him of when he came through and Sasuke did not even have the voice to defend himself. He blindly let himself be lured by some gangs due to his thirst for vengeance and it cost a friend's life. Kakashi somehow knew that it was what drove Sasuke to forget about his vengeance first and focused with his studies, finishing a degree and becoming what he and Naruto had always dreamed about. He became a law enforcer official at such a young age.

Still, there were times when Kakashi would find Sasuke at the veranda just looking up with blank eyes, the same eyes that promised vengeance over his family's death and the silver-haired knew that his personal vendetta against his brother was not forgotten - merely buried deep down for a temporary period.

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Sasuke walked out from the office when his assistant spoke. "Sir, someone called here a little while ago."

Sasuke's answer was to raise his brow. "..."

"One Hyuuga Neji."

Sasuke's attention was finally caught in full as he turned. "What did he say?"

"He was asking if you were around. Upon learning that you would be late, he already hanged up and said to call you later."

He nodded and tucked his hands. "I see."

Hyuuga Neji.

He had not seen his friend for five years now. The Hyuuga prodigy went abroad to study law and since then, he had not heard from him. Or to put it simply, Sasuke chose to cut his ties from them. After all, considering what happened, his friends were mad at him. He caused Naruto's death due to his reckless and suicidal behavior. He remembered it well when he woke up and received a beating from Lee and the harsh words that followed right after - words that he knew he deserved.

_Shit Sasuke! You've always been selfish after that tragedy and you never paid close attention to those who cared! You were the one who killed Naruto and how I wished it was you instead of him!_

He shook his head. He remembered those words very well and were engraved in his mind. But there's something Lee failed to see - that Sasuke had also been wishing to die ever since the massacre; that he found no real reason to live anymore and that what kept him going was his desire to kill Itachi; that it was too late for him to realize that - so blinded was he in his own rage.

"I thought I'd see you if I wait patiently."

He turned to his right to find Neji leaning on the wall outside the police station. The two prodigies studied each other carefully before Neji finally spoke once more. "Hey there, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded as acknowledgment and decided to continue towards his car. Neji leaned away from the wall and frowned. "Sasuke."

"What do you want, Hyuuga?" he asked coldly.

"C'mon man, I never heard directly from you for five years. I just arrived from US yesterday and decided to see you."

Sasuke opened his car and turned to Neji. "Now that you had seen me, satisfied?"

Neji paused and raked his grown hair. "Jesus Christ, Uchiha, what's got into your ass?" he snapped at the obvious disregard for his presence - as if he was someone barely known.

"My ass is my business, Hyuuga. I've work to do," he said and entered his car. But Neji wouldn't give up so he opened the other side and stepped in as well much to Sasuke's annoyance. Sasuke growled. "Look here - "

"No, you look here," Neji cut him off. "I came all the way to see you, to see how you are doing and to invite you for my wedding! The least you can do is to be polite enough to talk to me!"

Sasuke smirked. "Tch. Someone fell for you? How unfortunate of her," he said, not intending to start the engine until the guy stepped down. "She must be pretty brave to put up with your attitude!"

Neji rolled his eyes. "Your attitude is worst than mine, Uchiha," he sneered before he sighed. "Seriously, I want you to be there."

"Not interested."

"Sasuke - "

"For five years, I have not returned any of your mails or your calls - doesn't that say much about my desire of not wanting to have anything to do with you and the rest?" Sasuke snapped. "I don't want to have anything to do with people who reminds me so much of the person I killed!"

Neji froze at the outburst from his friend and stared. He simply stared. "You still blame yourself?" he asked in a murmur.

"..."

Neji huffed. "God - Uchiha! No one blamed you for Naruto's death!"

"Oh yeah? Tell that to Lee and see if he doesn't say otherwise," Sasuke sneered.

"Lee did not mean those words back then!"

"Whether he meant it or not is beside the point, Neji," Sasuke answered. "I knew my own fault there."

There was a moment of tensed silence before Neji spoke once more. "Naruto...he always believed that you would revert back to your old self after the massacre. He never lost his faith that someday, you'll just have to walk away from your sworn oath to kill your brother - "

"Too bad but that will never happen," Sasuke interrupted. "I've work to do, Neji." His tone was final and Neji sighed. He sat there for another few minutes before he spoke once more.

"You know, the fact that you blamed yourself for the death of the person you did not even kill, it makes me wonder how you should feel when you decide then to spill someone's blood - your brother's for that matter."

"I spilled many already in this line of business," Sasuke answered wryly. "And should it be my brother's - then I could only be satisfied."

Neji opened the side door at his side and stepped down before closing it again before leaning down to study Sasuke's dark face as he stared straight ahead. "We never blamed you. Kakashi-san never blamed you and I'm pretty sure that Naruto would say the same. We are still your friends, Sasuke and I'll be expecting you at my wedding. And Happy Birthday."

Sasuke did not respond and simply waited till Neji was out of sight before he started the engine. Looking at his rear view mirror, he drove slowly until he noticed something at the backseat and immediately his eyes recognized it. Killing the engine, he shifted to grab the single lily that was laid on the back seat of the car. When was the last time he received like this? He clenched his fist. Every year, on his birthday, a single lily and some other things would always be left for him. The last time he received something like this though was three years ago and he assumed he never will. And he never threw away those things. The flowers withered on its own while the other gifts that Itachi left for him were all stocked in one room.

He immediately stepped down from his car and looked around, his eyes burning with quiet fury. Itachi is toying with him. He knew Itachi is the only person alive besides him who knew what the lily signifies. It was their mother's favorite, the one she always picked up from the garden during their birthdays.

Boiling rage swirled inside him...after three long years, Itachi had once again made his presence known.

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"You went and did it again, Itachi," Kisame said with a shake of his head as his partner stepped into the room that they had rented.

The young man shrugged. 'I haven't paid him a visit for three years." Kisame offered a cup of tea as Itachi took a seat.

"Yo, Itachi, where'd you go?" Kakuzu asked as he started counting bills from his last pay.

"Somewhere."

The others were busy on their own things and so Itachi returned his attention back to his partner. "Whose the next target anyway?" he asked softly.

"An old man. Hidan can pretty much do the work," he said in reference to the man who, at the moment, was busy cleaning up his Jashin knife. "One hit."

"I see..."

"I heard his name is Sarutobi. I'm not really familiar with the names here. Come to think of it, I've been here a couple of times but I'm never used to - "

"He is a big time politician bound for retirement any time," another voice joined in and Pein sat beside Itachi.

"Tea?" Kisame offered but Pein simply raised his hand.

"I'll pass," he said. "Anyway, our mission is to eliminate him as quickly as possible."

"Sound so easy..." Zetsu joined in as well.

"Might be...but I heard he hired a new bodyguard after the failed attempts to kill him," he said and gave Kakuzu a dubious glance. "You had all the chances to kill him before, Kakuzu, but you never did...many clients offered you money."

Said man snorted. "Pfft. They offered me money but not enough. I choose my price, I choose my prey."

"There you go," Deidera said.

"I'll leave the job to Sasori." He turned to Itachi. "More importantly, the cowardly great Orochimaru is lurking around Japan as well according to the information gathered by Konan. It might be well to watch over your back."

"Hmm."

"Is the bodyguard a threat?" Sasori spoke for the first time. Something in the way Pein was looking at Itachi made Kisame a little uneasy...He is pretty sure, Itachi wouldn't be liking this one bit.

"I heard. He had quite a reputation in the country as one of the greatest and smartest law enforcer to date," he tossed the picture at the center table and the others moved together to have a closer look before Konan gasped.

"He looked so much like Itachi-kun."

Kisame turned to see his partner just giving the photo a blank look. Pein turned to Konan. "That's because he is Itachi's younger brother."

Sasori coughed out. "I've to kill his brother?" he asked.

"If he gets in the way which would happen naturally considering he is a bodyguard. I've given this task to you Sasori because I think you can carry it out. At other times, I would have asked Itachi to do the job but considering how the bodyguard is an Uchiha - "

"Pein-sama," Itachi interrupted. "There is no need to explain. Besides, I wouldn't mind. I can go after Orochimaru."

"You have to. Orochimaru is threatening to expose all of our plans if we don't act ahead of him." He stood up and gave Itachi a short glance. "I heard your brother had always been searching for leads about you - does he pose as a threat to our organization?"

"No."

"Good. Because if he is a threat, then he certainly must be eliminated."

"Which I intend to carry out if given the chance," Itachi said and whirled to leave, his comrades all staring at his back before Kisame spoke.

"Well...he had always been planning to fight his brother, you see," he said as way of explanation.

"I will not permit it," Pein said. "Kisame, make sure that Itachi and his brother never meets. Itachi's brain is a very valuable asset to us and we can't afford to lose him in a fight against his brother. As much as possible, keep an eye on the younger Uchiha."

Kisame simply nodded. "Sure."

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Sorry guys if my updates are delayed. In fact, even my other stories are being delayed. Anyway, thanks to the following:

_Somebody xD -_hey there, thanks for the compliment.

_Sasuke-Fan723 -_thank you so much and here is an update...

_UchihaItachi21_ - hehe, don't worry, my reason for not updating is because I barely have time to update my stories now so it takes quite a while..._  
_


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